


Spring

by Kibs



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Link/Zelda - Freeform, LinkxZelda - Freeform, Memory Loss, Romance, remembering, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 03:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13755570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kibs/pseuds/Kibs
Summary: While stranded on an island trial, Link remembers a night with Zelda





	Spring

Link flexed his toes over the rock, adjusting his grip once more, before bunching his muscles and diving into the sea.  
He easily caught the fish through his spear, and resurfaced with his catch and began paddling back, ambling, through the tepid waters. He felt the sweat and dust washed away as the tide slapped against him, gently pulling. He floated for a moment, wondering if he would drift out to sea, or be washed ashore if he remained still and let the ocean do its will. 

His drifting heel touched sand, and he opened his eyes against the sun. There was his answer. 

He trudged quietly back to his makeshift camp under a gathering of palm trees. He'd knocked a durian out of them earlier, and let it bake above a low fire while he hunted. Before he settled in, he walked a loose circle around his camp, taking note of the distant sounds of monsters, and the benign calls of birds. He'd already encountered many bokoblin camps, and stumbled upon a sleeping Hinox; the island was teeming with monsters which kept him vigilant even through his exhaustion. He could not afford to be ambushed, not as he was. 

A storm had washed him ashore two days ago, and he'd woken stripped of his weapons and clothes- only the Shiekah Slate remained. The ominous voice of a Sheikah Elder had instructed him to explore the island and find the shrine. Though it had offered him the chance to leave, if he swam back to sea, the adventurer would not be able to reach the far-off mainland without a raft.

He looked upwards, at the splayed palm leaves catching the wafts of smoke. When they were cooked, he sliced the fish and durian open to taste them, and skewered them together, letting the flavors mix before eagerly devoured them.  
He leaned back in the sand and exhaled a long, fragrant breath. He twirled the empty skewer between his fingers and enjoyed the feeling of his hunger sated.

A loud wave rolled up further on the beach, wetting previously dry sand. It almost reached Link's toes, and a crab raced by to avoid the torrent. 

The ocean drew his attention. Sometimes he would stare out into the waves and imagine himself setting sail on a proper boat, with such detail he must have done it before. The knots to tie down an anchor, how to read the clouds…  
Far, far off was the mainland, black against the deep blue of the sky. Maybe there was a torch along the Cliffside, or just a low star. When the relaxation began to settle in, Link prickled, and sat up taller. 

Zelda was still fighting, and he was lounging on a beach.  
Slowly, he pushed his sore face into his hand, and exhaled an anxious breath. She would understand…she must. He was still fighting for her, to reach her. He'd just gotten caught up in a silly detour.  
He wondered. Seeking out shrines that wasted days…were those days truly wasted? He became stronger with each shrine he conquered, he could feel it.

And, he knew he could not face the Calamity as he was. The…details of his defeat were foggy, but he'd already failed Zelda once before. He knew that the Calamity had ambushed them, appearing suddenly and turning the Guardians against them and they had not even been able to reach the castle to fight it.  
Absentmindedly, he traced the thick scar on his chest, numb to his hand's touch until he reached unmarred skin. He couldn't remember. 

Link dug his heels deeper into the sand, trying to ground himself. What did it matter, he had to find the shrine to get off of the island. That was his goal for now. He had to remain focused.  
Angrily, he rolled onto his side and tucked himself against the grassy alcove, and the fire died out. 

~

"Zelda!" Link's voice did not carry over the rushing tide- the sounds of water swallowing rough sand. 

He twisted in a circle, hoping to see her among the splinters of their raft, in the shallows. Then, suddenly, her bright hair glimmered in the dark waves, and he dashed back towards the sea. The water hit him like a wall, and Link stumbled backwards before he could be knocked down. When the current began pulling back, he followed it and dove under the lip of a wave. It came down hard on his ankles, but he'd avoided the full brunt, and held himself under water to swim farther.  
The water stung his eyes, but he saw her- so far off still, tumbling deeper. He had to come up for air, and inhaled a wet breath of foam before diving again. She'd sunk deeper, oddly still despite the rough water. He caught her under the arms and kicked upwards. 

She wasn't moving, and he feared for her neck and spine, but they would both drown soon unless he got them to land. He pulled her head out of the water and rode the top of a wave closer to shore. The ominous tug of a forming wave pulled them back, and Link kicked upwards to break through the top before it could take them down. They rode the rushing water back to the shallows, where he could finally stand. 

She squirmed in his grasp as he pulled her into his arms but Link held her steady as another wave broke around his knees .  
"L-let go…!" she shouted roughly, her throat raw. Link whisked her out of the sand and carried her farther away from the broiling ocean. "Let me d-down…!" she said, her hands shaking against his chest.  
Link firmly ignored her, until they came to a patch of seagrass. He set her down and pushed her hair out of her face, making sure she was all right, breathing…

Then her expression shattered. "Why did you follow me?" she whispered.  
Link sighed. She always wanted a reason. 

"Tell me!" she stood. Her hair was messed and damp from the ocean, clothes sticking to her body like the water itself. "Because my father told you to? Because it's your job!?" 

"Just let me!" he shouted. 

She stilled as if struck by lightning. That was the loudest she'd ever heard him, even in battle. 

Link exhaled hard, and pushed his hand into a wound on his side. It was bleeding, but the cut was shallow. The saltwater just hurt. "Don't make this harder," he said. "Just…let me." 

Zelda nodded uncertainly, then eyed where his hands gripped his side. "Are you injured?"  
He shook his head. Then he gestured up at the hills. They needed to make camp. 

They worked in bitter silence, collecting dry wood and kindling, and Zelda sat at a distance as Link built up and ignited the fire. The beach was protected from the brunt of the wind, and the rain had died to painful flecks of cold. But there was no better shelter than the cove he'd led them to, so they would have to endure it. 

He waited by the embers, making sure it caught to the logs, before standing. "Why did you run?" he asked. 

Zelda shut her eyes. "Don't say that. I…I didn't run." 

Link crossed his arms. Her disappearance had been sudden. Link had been wounded in battle and gone to see Mipha at Zora's Domain so she could heal his arm. When he returned to the castle, Zelda was gone- with a travel bag and supplies that were meant to last days.  
Link had left quickly, without telling the King that his daughter had gone. It was a bold move, borderline treacherous to keep her father in the dark, out of the situation, but Link hoped to explain his actions as urgent, if he were called upon to explain himself. If. Ideally, they would return before others knew she had ran. 

"You left without telling anyone," Link countered. "You didn't want to be followed." 

"That doesn't mean I ran," she quipped back. Zelda pulled her fingers through her hair, loosing it from knotted braids. "I am no more important than anyone else. Everyone has a part to play," she said. "Yet people treat me as if I am made of glass- the only one worth protecting. But if you die, then we will not defeat the Calamity either."

"We won't die," Link said. "not if we stay together." 

"Have you forgotten those Lynels?"

"We survived," Link retorted. "We would not have alone." 

"And the Lizalfos before them? The Yiga Clan? Each time, you came close to losing your life. Because of me!" Zelda tore her gaze away. "I cannot rely on you like this. Sooner or later, you will…" her voice tapered off, but he understood. They were left with the song of storms, and silence. 

He hung his head, water dripping down, steaming from the fire. Why could she not understand? They had been travelling together for months, and suddenly she runs away from him?  
How could he make her understand?

"Zelda…I don't remain at your side because I am ordered to." Not anymore. In a moment of courage, he reached across the flames and toucher her cold cheek. She stopped shivering. "I thought I lost you." 

Her eyes welled with emotion, and she caught his hand as he began to take it back.  
Link flinched, surprised at her grip and her pained expression. 

And her sharp tongue gave way to honesty. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. You're…you're always getting hurt for me. I can't-…" she shut her eyes and tears fell, catching the firelight. "I can't stand it." 

He wanted to ask why- why couldn't she stand it? Was it Zelda's gentle nature or was Link somehow more important? 

Her eyes fell into her lap, where their hands rested. "But…you're right. This impending battle has been weighing on my mind. I know we cannot give up, but I needed-…I still need…" And whatever she was going to say, she let out in a loud exhale. "Thank you, Link." 

He offered her a reassuring smile. Stronger together. 

She laughed weakly, smiling back. She nodded and held his hand tighter. "Yes. Together, then."

~

Link woke coughing, as if there was still oceanwater in his lungs. When he realized it had been a dream, an old memory, he laid back down in the sand, and traced his hand absent-mindedly over his cheek. He could almost still feel her fingertips…Almost. 

His lips twitched upwards as the memory did not fade. He could hold onto this one. It was laced with fear, but they had been okay. And…something else, too. 

He was starting to realize- to remember- what they had been before Calamity Ganon. Their rigid beginning as Princess and Appointed Knight, eventually bending with time. His dream was vivid as the emotions warm and powerful and compelling.

He'd loved her. 

He knew that now. Perhaps she had even loved him back, but Link did not want to suggest something so intimate when she could have no say.  
And, without being whole, as fractured as his memories were, he dared not say he still loved her. Yet the thought of not loving her made his chest ache. Why else would he be so desperate to reach her again? Before he even knew her name, and their past, he knew he must break into the castle.

Link stood, not bothering to dust the sand off his legs. He stretched and examined the line of crimson that stained the horizon. The last of the stars were burning out, dried by the sun, and he vowed to escape that island before they showed their faces again.


End file.
